The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
As fossil fuels and other natural resources become scarce, communities across the globe are looking for power sources which will provide a more abundant form of generating electricity.
One common method uses solar power cells to capture energy from the sun which can be converted into electricity and stored in batteries. However, these systems can not efficiently operate at times when sunshine is not plentiful, such as at night or during adverse weather conditions. Other known systems include windmills and water propelled turbines which use the mechanical force of air or water to spin an electric generator which creates electricity. Although more efficient than solar panels, these mechanical generators can only operate when natural conditions (i.e. wind and water flow) are at sufficient levels to spin the generator. Therefore, these systems can not be relied upon to produce consistent electricity at all times and weather conditions.
Although typically utilized as a means for conditioning air, thermal gradient producing devices, such as conventional heat pumps, for example, act to absorb heat energy from an endothermic side (e.g., evaporator) and release the heat energy to an exothermic side (e.g., condenser). These devices typically require motorized fans and/or pumps to remove this heat energy and release it into the surrounding environment. To this end, these devices are doubly inefficient, as they use a first type of energy to waste a second type of energy.
Accordingly, it would be beneficial to provide a system for utilizing the heat from a highly efficient thermal gradient producing device to generate electricity. It would also be beneficial to provide a system for utilizing the heat from a highly efficient thermal gradient producing device to provide mechanical power capable of providing propulsion to a vehicle.